As a 10-year-old in 1953, I recall seeing newsreels at the movies, which showed the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. It seemed like a big deal to millions of people, but my passions revolved around playing Little League baseball and cheering on my Cleveland Indians, not about the monarchy. Tina, by contrast, recalls that she was totally enchanted with the whole affair.
In 1997, I remember the brouhaha when the Queen was not perceived as sufficiently mournful over the death of Princess Diana, then divorced from Prince Charles. Most Britons apparently loved Diana more than they loved the Queen or other members of the Royal Family.
In 2013, we spent a week in Windsor where my stepson and his family were staying while he completed a work stint for Ben & Jerry’s. Granddaughter Tess, then 7 years old, would announce in her best British accent, “The Queen is in residence” whenever the flag was flying over Windsor Castle. We spotted the Queen in attendance at the Easter Service in St. George’s Castle. I played paparazzi and got a fine photo of the Queen and the Prince Philip leaving from a side entrance of the Castle. I showed the photo to a waitress a few days later, and she was blown away that I got so close to the Queen.
After it was announced that the movie “Harry and Megan” would be shown on Netflix, I wondered whether it would be worth the watch. Part of me suspected that this was just two entitled young people trying to cash in on their recent ties to the monarchy. On the other hand, I thought, it might be interesting to see what they had to say and reveal, so I decided to give it a go.
I’m glad I watched both episodes. Here are my major takeaways: First, it took courage for Harry and Megan to break away from the Royal Family and go out on their own, especially given the pushback they knew they would get. Second, it’s undeniable that Megan’s presence and rising star was resented at least in part because of her race. Third, the horrendous British tabloids played a major part in the couple’s decision to leave; they didn’t want their every step and misstep to be chronicled by a press which would do anything it took to get a good “story,” facts be damned. Harry knew, firsthand, the role the media had played in ruining his own mother’s life.
Any thought that Harry and Megan were being too hard on the British tabloids was quashed the very day after the two-part series ended. In an article in the Sun, Jeremy Clarkson, wrote that he was “dreaming of the day when she (Megan) is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowd’s chant ‘Shame!’ And throw lumps of excrement at her.”
Clarkson, by the way, is not just a slimy low-level reporter out to earn his stripes in the tabloid world. He’s a well-known journalist, broadcaster and game show host along the lines of someone like, say, “entertainer” Rush Limbaugh on this side of the pond. Not so coincidentally, he had attended a recent Christmas event sponsored by the Royal Family.
It should be noted that the Sun, which had no problem publishing Clarkson’s bile, is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, which also has a large interest in Fox Corporation (Fox News parent company). Fox News’s quest for profits invariably trumps its devotion to the facts, even though Fox fans claim that that’s the only network that is truthful, fair and balanced. (Note: Check out the proceedings of the lawsuit that Dominion Voting Systems launched vs. Fox if you think I’m being unfair to Fox.)
So, three cheers to Harry and Megan for helping reveal the dark side of the monarchy and the noxious impact of tabloid-style media (be it print or cable-TV) which demonstrates zero concern for decency or truth.
David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns at dtreadw575@aol.com.
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